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More than 3500 people demonstrated their opposition to the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) in nationwide rallies yesterday.

The marches took place in centres across New Zealand in opposition to the free trade agreement proposed between 12 Asian and Pacific countries, including New Zealand and the United States.

Protests took place in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hokianga, Whangarei, Hamilton, Taranaki, Tauranga, Napier, Whanganui, Palmerston North, Nelson, Geraldine and Invercargill. Politicians, activists, academics, union staff and business people were among the speakers.

Labour leader David Cunliffe spoke at the Auckland rally but would not state his party's final position on the TPPA.

"I'm going to wait until I see the details."

The TPPA was a "fundamentally important agreement" but the public did not know what was included in the text, he said.

"There's a wide range of opinions, some people are absolutely opposed, some people think it's a great deal and the fact is nobody really knows because there's 300 pages of details in [trade minister] Tim Groser's safe and he's not showing anybody and that's wrong," Cunliffe said.

Mana Party's John Minto said the TPPA would give foreign investors more rights than Kiwis. "The TPPA is a bill of rights for foreign investors to come and plunder New Zealand," he said.

Representatives from the Mana Party, the Maori Party, NZ First, the Green Party and Labour spoke.

Speakers said the TPPA would become an issue ahead of the September 20 general election.

The Northland Conservation Board will continue to press for a precautionary approach on genetically modified organisms to be specified in the Northland Regional Policy Statement.

Board members will speak in support of its submission during the RPS hearings this week. The issue was discussed at the board's meeting on 31 May- its last public meeting of the year.

NRC Chairman Craig Brown gave the board background to the RPS process. He said the majority of councillors on the policy committee had voted against including specific text on GMOs despite an overwhelming number of supporting public submissions.

The board has also written to Northland Regional Council expressing concerns about the policy committee's decision to omit precautionary text.

Not quite as hot a topic was the Northland Kauri National park proposal, which has gone on the backburner.

The meeting heard that stumbling blocks include the defintiion of "co-governance" between Iwi and the Crown, kauri dieback (PTA, and whether all Northland Waitangi Treaty claims should be settled before a decision is made on a Kauri National Park.

The board is concerned its own role in a number of issues will be affected by broad changes to the Department of Conservation's structure, taking place from September.

The changes are designed to focus field staff on frontline conservation work, with a new business arm developing joint ventures and sponsorship for conservation projects.

Shocking Stealth Cause of Birth Defects

With the cost of food recently skyrocketing – hitting not just shoppers but the poor and hungry in the developing world – genetically modified (GM) foods are once again being promoted as the way to feed the world. But this is little short of a confidence trick. Far from needing more GM foods, there are urgent reasons why we need to ban them altogether.

GMOs seen as a risky business - Make users legally responsible: poll

The majority of Northlanders and Aucklanders want strict controls over any genetically-modified (GM) plants and animals grown in their areas, according to a Colmar Brunton poll conducted late last year.

The poll, commissioned by the Inter-Council Working Party on GMO Risk Evaluation and Management Options, found that two-thirds or more of respondents favoured regulation of at least a strength that would make users of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) legally responsible for any environmental or economic harm, either by way of local regulation or changes to national legislation.

The results of a Colmar Brunton poll, commissioned by local authorities from Auckland north to Cape Reinga because of growing concerns of about genetically modified organisms (GMOs), was released just before Christmas.

The poll was remarkably consistent, showing significant opposition to GMO land use from both rural and urban dwellers.

Whangarei and Kaipara District councils have begun moves to tighten controls on the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Both last week adopted recommendations from the Inter-council Working Party on GMO Risk Evaluation and Management Options, which commissioned a Colmar Brunton poll that showed most Northlanders were concerned about the risks associated with genetically modified plants and animals.